Ardeevin (Leagan Gaeilge – Árd Aoibhinn):
The townland of Ardeevin is situated four kilometres north of Glenamaddy Town in north-east County Galway. The Irish form of the townland name translates as ‘beautiful or pleasant height’, árd meaning high and aoibheann meaning ‘beautiful or pleasant’. Other forms of the townland name listed in O’Donovan’s Field Name Books prepared in the 1830s are Árd Aoibhín, and Ardeevan.
Distinctive Features:
- A Standing Stone and a Ringfort in the townland of Ardeevin are registered with the National Monuments Service and feature in the National Monuments Service Archaeological Survey Database.
- The 1840 Historic Ordnance Survey Map shows a small cluster of six houses adjoining the Glenamaddy Ballymoe Road with three individual houses located further to the west.
- Ardeevin National School is located in the south east of the townland where the townlands of Ardeevin, Ballinastack, Stonepark and Ballinapeaka townlands converge. The school opened on this site in 1914 under the stewardship of Fr. Conway P.P.. Accidental fire damage in 1952 caused the school to close until 1955 while a new school was being built. During the period of reconstruction classes were conducted in Ballinastack Hall. The school was renovated and extended in 2005.
1656-58 Down Survey:
The Down Survey name of the townland is given as Drum a Treene. The landowner is listed as Colonel John Kelly who is described as being a Catholic. The unprofitable land was adjudged to be 187 plantation acres with the profitable land amounting to 105 plantation acres. The area to be forfeited came to 105 plantation acres.
1823 – 1838 Tithe Applotment Books:
Surviving documentation of the Tithe Applotment Books is in poor condition making it difficult, and in some cases impossible, to decipher the names of landholders. In so far as it can be ascertained the only Catholic landholder in the townland of Ardeevin who paid the tithe (tax) levied to support the Established Church (Church of Ireland) was Richard Stretch. Protestant occupiers of agricultural holdings were exempt from this tax.
1838 O’Donovan’s Field Name Books:
O’Donovan describes the townland as follows – “The only remarkable feature this townland presents is a Danish Fort which has a Trig. Station on it as also a Standing Stone called Ardeevan Stone. This Fort is situated about 4 chains W. of the S.W. boundary. Centre of road forms the S.E. boundary. The remainder of the land is tillage and pasture.” A triangulation station, also known as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in surveying. Many stations are located on hilltops for the purposes of visibility.
1856 Griffith’s Valuation:
The townland covered an area of 95 acres 1 roods 21 perches and the total rateable valuation of the land and buildings combined amounted to £51 9s 0d. At the time of the survey there were five occupiers in Ardeevin – Morrissy, Stritch, Mannion, Kenny and Keane. The landlord in Ardeevin was Richard Stritch.
Adjoining Townlands:
The following townlands share a border with Ardeevin – Ballinapeaka, Ballinastack, Classaghroe, Cloonlara North, Cloonminda, Felimspark, Knockauns East and Stonepark
Census Records:
Population and Household data for the townland of Ardeevin:
Glenamaddy and the Irish Folklore Collections:
The article posted on this website under the ‘Heritage > Folklore’ tab provides an overview of the folklore material submitted by Glenamaddy parishioners to the National Folklore Commission, now known as the Irish Folklore Collections. It also explains the background to the 1937 Schools’ Collection (Bailiúchán na Scol) project which has good representation from a parish perspective.
The Irish Folklore Collections housed in the Folklore Department of University College Dublin contain a treasure trove of folklore material, some of which is accessible online. Both the Main Manuscript Collection and the Schools’ Collection contain a considerable number of submissions from collectors and informants who resided in the parish of Glenamaddy. The quick reference directories featured in the ‘Parish > Townlands’ section of this website complement the user-friendly search features of the dúcas.ie website and are helpful in tracking Schools’ Collection submissions associated with townlands. Submissions are categorised under – School, Teacher, Language, Volume Number, Page Number, Collector, Collector’s Townland, Informant and Informant’s Townland. Where applicable, Schools’ Collection directories showing online townland-related submissions appear at the end of the following townland posts on this website – Ballinapeaka, Ballinastack, Barna, Boyounagh_More (Middletown),_Bushtown, Cashel, Classaghroe, Cloonacross, Clooncon_East, Clooncon_West, Cloonkeen, Cultiafadda, Eskeromullacaun (Esker), Felimspark, Glenamaddy, Gortaganny, Gortnagier, Kiltullagh, Knockauns, Lisheenaheltia, Loughpark, Meelick, Scotland, Shannagh_More, Stonetown and Woodfield.
Parish folklore submissions contained in the Schools’ Collection are also accessible online via the following links:-
Árd Aoibhinn National School – Part 1 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613680
Árd Aoibhinn National School – Part 2 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613681
Glenamaddy Girls’ National School – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613677
Glenamaddy Boys’ National School – Part 1 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613678
Glenamaddy Boys’ National School – Part 2 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613679
Gort na Léime National School – Part 1 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4569061
Gort na Léime National School – Part 2 – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4569062
Lisheenaheltia Girls’ National School – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613675
Lisheenaheltia Boys’ National School – https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613676
Glenamaddy submissions which form part of the Main Manuscript Collection are not posted online but may be examined in the reading room of the Folklore Department in U.C.D., Belfield, Dublin 4. Typed versions of some of the parish contributions contained in the Main Manuscript Collection are published under the ‘Heritage > Folklore’ tab on this website.
Quick Reference Directory of Glenamaddy folklore submissions in the Main Manuscript Collection:-
Author: Pat Keaveny
Sources:
Townlands in County Galway
1840 Historic Ordnance Survey Map
Place Name Books of Galway
The Down Survey of Ireland
The Tithe Applotment Books, 1823-1837
Griffith Valuation – Ask About Ireland
Central Statistics Office
National Archives: Census Reports 1901/1911
Essex University: Historic Population Census Reports
Historic Environment Viewfinder
Historical Notes on the Parish of Glenamaddy. Fr Walter Conway